China, Switzerland extend currency swap deal

BEIJING — China’s central bank said on July 27 that it had extended a currency swap agreement with the Swiss National Bank.

The agreement allows the two central banks to swap 150 billion yuan ($22.3 billion) for 21 billion Swiss francs, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website.

The move is aimed at providing liquidity for bilateral economic and trade exchanges while ensuring financial market stability, the PBOC said.

The agreement will be valid for three years and can be extended by mutual consent.

The two banks inked a 150-billion-yuan currency swap deal in July 2014.

A currency swap deal allows two institutions to exchange payments in one currency for equivalent amounts in the other to facilitate bilateral trade settlements and provide liquidity support to financial markets.